Who doesn’t love the dazzling sight of colourful tulips? At the Keukenhof, one of the most famous gardens in the world, tulips, hyacinths, crocuses and daffodils appear during this special time of year.
The bulbs for the upcoming season have already been planted! As we speak, these stunning flowers are getting ready to blossom!
Some flowers actually only bloom for a week and a half, so there's a very carefully-planned approach for making sure flower beds and bulb mosaics remain gleaming with lively colours. Take a look behind the scenes and hear from Dutch gardeners at Keukenhof who take meticulous care to make sure the massive garden stays electric throughout the spring!
These different flowers have very varied life cycles. Even amongst tulips alone, there are over 800 different kinds of tulips and the varieties have different flowering times: the mid-bloomers in April and the late-bloomers in May. Crocuses are typically the earliest spring flowers to break out each year.
So, these expert gardeners plant the bulbs in layers in what they call the "lasagne planting method". Rows of late-bloomers are planted down the bottom, with a layer of earth on top, then the mid-bloomers, then another layer of earth on top and the early-bloomers are placed closest to the surface!
The Keukenhof opens on March 20 and welcomes visitors until May 9. Keukenhof tickets are already on sale!
The spring 2021 opening procedure has been heavily adapted for COVID-19 in the Netherlands and safety and hygiene of visitors are a priority. Since measures keep changing, it is best to keep an eye on the Keukenhof website and that of the RIVM.